Donkey and Elephants

Donkey and Elephants I was asked to weigh in on the Republican cause and suggest a strategy for the future. A little history first. I suppose i have the right to weigh in on the debate i was a direct beneficiary of the faith based initiatives which were part of the Bush Years. When i arrived in the U.S, my vision was to become a great preacher, wave my and in the air and have the masses fall Under the power of God. This changed when i joined a ministry in the Southern part of Texas, where i was quickly handed a rake and broom and thrust in the predominantly and fiercely pragmatic American life. I was awakened and rather shocked that i was doing this in a Christian Ministry. The group i was a part of had two major influences practical ministry was at the heart of the school. Not long after, we were in the neighborhood cutting the grass and clearing the yard for a single mother, and picking up the trash. I found out much later, that there is a strange link between the things we do on a practical level and the things that take place on a spiritual plane. My leadership was made up of a group that had been trained by Dave Wilkerson (a preacher who left the comforts of suburbia to serve his God in the streets of New York). No doubt, the effects of that man's life were imprinted on their psyches and thus framed a major part of their thinking. We lived near an old airfield and worked in a predominantly poor area. We were incidentally only a few miles to the Border and in the Historic Rio Grande Valley. When i met the minister, his purpose was to identify the strongholds in his city and then to take very deliberate steps to fix these problems in a practical way. This meant several things, firstly he built bridges with the Spiritual leaders in his city. Secondly he made inroads with the law enforcement and started ride-alongs to help minister directly to the officers. Thirdly, he fought hard to mentor young leaders to take his place and to propagate his way of thinking. Fourthly, he read widely about the history of the city (he loved studying the Civil War Era) and attempted to create alliances across racial lines (one of the hallmarks of this was the creation of what he called the Declaration of Interdependence). Fifthly, he understood the importance of presence (at one funeral for a police officer he stated,"the best way to pay respects to the dead is to honor the living"). What does this mean for Republicans? 1. Pay attention to your history. 2. Create meaningful alliances based on values. Allow those alliances to fight on the fronts for which they feel strongest. 3. Understand the repetitive sense of history and identify which mistakes you are being warned from making. 4. Find out who needs to be honored and honor them. You will benefit from their experience. 5. Create a strong spiritual sense and match that with a strong practical life.